Deploying a Web application on a Web server is an involved process that has many potential places for error. In many modern Web applications, in addition to the code that executes on the Web server, there may also be other data and configuration changes to make when deploying an application from a development environment to a production environment. When a developer deploys a Web application to a Web server, the developer may copy the application files to the Web server, make some configuration changes, attempt to run the Web server, find configuration and other errors, attempt to troubleshoot the errors, make additional configuration changes, copy additional files, and iterate on this process until the production Web server is correctly configured and has the appropriate content. Besides potential frustration, the process of deploying a Web application on a Web server may consume a great deal of time and energy.
In addition, Web servers are often owned and controlled by third parties, such as hosting companies, and deploying a Web application on a Web server may involve obtaining a new account from the Web host or modifying an existing account. Obtaining a Web host account from a Web development tool is an onerous process that typically involves: (1) Leaving the development tool; (2) starting a Web browser and visiting the Web host's offer; (3) entering information such as a name and email address; (4) waiting for a verification email to arrive, and clicking on a URL inside the email; (5) logging in to the Web host's control panel; (6) provisioning databases and other modules inside the control panel; and (7) importing Web host settings into the Web development tool.